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Publisher's Summary

Anthony Stevens argues that Jung's visionary powers and profound spirituality have helped many to find an alternative set of values to the arid materialism prevailing Western society.

This concise introduction explains clearly the basic concepts of Jungian psychology: The collective unconscious, complex, archetype, shadow, persona, anima, animus, and the individuation of the Self. Anthony Stevens examines Jung's views on such disparate subjects as myth, religion, alchemy, "synchronicity", and the psychology of gender differences. He devotes separate chapters to the stages of life, Jung's theory of psychological types, the interpretation of dreams, the practice of Jungian analysis, and to the unjust allegation that Jung was a Nazi sympathiser.

Well- to keep it short and sweet - great narration, great introduction on Jung ideas and research (and comparison to his eventual nemesis Freud). Any layperson interested in psychoanalysis will not be disappointed by this audiobook. It will probably spark an interest in buying further books on Jung and or Freud.

I have a friend who is a Jungian scholar who is writing a book on some aspect of Jung. When I saw this short book I jumped at it, thinking I could learn a bit about Jung so I would not feel so stupid when we get together. The only thing I knew about Jung was what I had read back in 1971 when I read Irving Stone’s “The Passions of the Mind” about the life of Sigmund Freud. Stone is the master of the biographical novel. The book on Freud was fascinating. The author of this book is Dr. Anthony Stevens a British psychiatrist and Jungian analyst. He has co-author several books on evolutionary psychiatry. Dr. Stevens’ book is a well written, comprehensive over view of Jung’s ideas and biography. He explains Jung’s relationship with Freud and refutes the anti-Semitism charges that floated around since before World War Two. It is obvious that Dr. Stevens did a great deal of research and has the magnificence ability to summarize a complex person and his ideas and system of psychology into understandable and interesting book for a lay person. Tim Pigott-Smith did a great job narrating the book.

An excellent primer on Jung. Well read in an engaging, informative and lively style which matched the outstanding writing. You will learn much about Juung, Gnosticism, and Depth Psychology from this. I felt enriched for the whole experience. WELL WORTH THE PRICE! A TREASURE.

I had some familiarity with Jungian concepts going into this work, but zero knowledge of his life. What a fascinating biography! I couldn't put this down, and after finishing it craved to know more of Jung's relationship with Freud, and of Jung's life after their rift. Very entertaining, and Anthony Stevens' narration is fanTAStic!

First, I love this book because it's short. I have a million other topics I need to study, but I've always been fascinated by Jung. I should confess that my total understanding of psychology is a college 101 class, so this is really not my world. However, I was offended by the focus on the aberrant and the lack of focus on the health of ordinary people. I was also repulsed by the focus on Freud and his obsession with sex. While sex is clearly a part of life, my life doesn't evolve around it. The course briefly mentioned this enigmatic, foreign figure who seemed to take people more holistically. This book gave me a nice relationship with Jung -- much more than an introduction. I was surprised at the depth and range of a book so short.This book is also brings in myth and gossip, rounding out the truly legendary elements of Jung's life. It introduced me to amazing elements of his life, like his own struggles with sanity and his believe that babbling maniacs should be listened to, an idea, which, while counter intuitive, I found compelling. I was also compelled by his idea that by living the experience of failed mental health, he was able to gain a greater insight. He considered his mental failing a great contribution to his research. Amazing!I learned about Jung's childhood, his relationship with Freud, his research, his failed mental health and recovery and his return to academia. I learned about concepts like his disagreements with Freud on the meaning of dreams and his ideas about archetypes. The audiobook is only something like 3 hours long. In less than a week of daily commutes, I was able to get a pretty good basic understanding of Jung.The audiobook's narration is smooth and I love the narrator's accent. Great read.

This book succeeds in explaining Jung's life and Jungian concepts in a concise but very thorough and intelligent manner. If you're interested in Jung I can't imagine a better way to learn. As with any well-written book about an interesting subject, it's entertaining as well. Very high recommendation.

A very thoughtful introduction to the work of Jung. The author has obviously sat with the material for a very long time to get to this place of clarity. Very well paced and succinct. Whets your appetite for the original.

What other book might you compare Jung to and why?

Mahamudra for the Modern World. I think both works try to summarize to great traditions one of the East and other from the West. I think Jung is a logical precursor to reading the "Mahamudra for the Modern World."

Which character – as performed by Tim Pigott-Smith – was your favorite?

I really enjoyed this book on Jung. I had read Selected Works by Anthony Storr and I had a good idea about some of Jung's key theories,

This book kicks off with a fascinating insight into Jung's childhood and student years and explains some of the connections between his later ideas and his early insights. I find this book rewards several listens and having listened to it a number of times I have gone on to read "Memories Dreams & Reflections" Carl Jung's autobiography which I would also recommend highly.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

gareth

Stoke-on-Trent, United Kingdom

4/10/13

Overall

"Very good - content and quality"

I really enjoyed this audiobook - both the content and the quality - and I expect I shall listen to it several times. Certain parts of it, like Jung's perspective on illness as a creative process, I found particularly inspiring. If you would like an introduction to Jung's ideas and like listening to audiobooks then this comes recommended.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Amazon Customer

5/8/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Brilliant "

loved it would recommend it to those who prefer a pragmatic approach to psychoanalysis. Tim Piggott Smith has a superb reading voice

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Brendan

Ballinasloe, Ireland

1/8/13

Overall

"Very Helpful"

As some one who has read Jung already I found this book very helpful as a refresher course and in attempting to articulate the ideas in a concise way. The narration is excellent.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

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